Written by: Express News Service
2 min readAhmedabadJan 31, 2012 08:33 AM IST
First published on: Jan 31, 2012 at 08:33 AM IST
The Gujarat High Court has dismissed a public interest litigation (PIL) challenging a 2009 state government resolution under which it was proposed to hand over administration of Bhuj-based G K General Hospital to Gujarat Adani Institute of Medical Sciences as part of public-private-partnership (PPP) enterprise.
The court,however,gave certain directions under which the hospital’s affairs would be run.
According to the HC directions,the hospital will remain a public property and its name will not be changed. A committee having nominees from the government and from the private partner would manage its affairs and the income of the hospital and the medical college will have to be spent on the development of the hospital only.
The court has also ordered that Adani will have to comply with its promise to add 450 beds to the hospital,which has 33 beds at present. Ten per cent of the medical seats of the medical college will have to be reserved for the students of Kutch district. At the same time,poor patients,government and HC employees will have to be given free treatment at the hospital.
The PIL was moved by a local leader from Kutch,Adam Chaki,who had challenged the state government resolution passed in May 2009. The government had implemented the resolution only in part,handing over the running of the medical college to the business group. The PIL contended that poor patients from Kutch were already facing problems in getting treatment at the hospital and if the administration of the same was given to GAIMS,it would turn into an economically non-viable option for them to get medical treatment there.
G K General Hospital was demolished in 2001 earthquake and was rebuilt with money from the Prime Minister’s Relief Fund.
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